'It's not a waste of time' - young people defend the humble gap year

Fifteen years since their first day of school, Mia Sanson-Regan and Gwen Shepherd, who are both 18, were ready for a break from education.

The friends from Cardiff are among thousands each year in the UK who opt to take a gap year before starting university.

Despite a "lot of pressure" from teachers to go straight to university, the pair said they did not regret working multiple jobs in their year off to finance a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Victoria Tassongo, 20, who took a gap year - and is now studying medicine at the University of Oxford - said she wanted to "change the narrative" and push back at those who saw taking a year out as a waste of time.

UCAS said 6.4% of successful university applicants chose to defer their university offers in 2025, an increase close to the levels seen during the Covid pandemic.

While Mia always knew she would take a gap year, Gwen was not so sure.

"I've always been quite academic, I've enjoyed being in school," she said.

"Sixth form was really intense and I did enjoy it, but I definitely wanted to have a break from being in school full-time.

"I also really loved the idea of travelling and I wasn't sure if I'd get such a good time period and opportunity to do it [while] still living at home."

Gwen was too late to defer her 2025 offer, but has since applied and been accepted to study history and politics at the University of Manchester in September.

While Gwen spent the first six months of her gap year working in a supermarket, Mia said it had been "intense" to balance three jobs.

"It's always been in my head that I didn't want to go to university straightaway," she said.

"It's quite nice to not have your brain always be learning."

The school friends will now use the money they have saved to travel across South East Asia.

"I wouldn't be able to travel such a far distance for the first time by myself so I'm really glad that it's come at a point where both of us can do it together," said Mia.

Out of 577,725 university offers made in the 2025-26 academic year, 36,925 students deferred their offers.

A higher proportion of school leavers are taking a break before higher education than 10 years ago, with 6.4% deferring their university places in 2025, compared with 5.4% in 2016, according to UCAS.

Non-profit organisation Graduate Prospects said school leavers were using gap years as a chance to explore other countries and cultures, as well as to de-stress after finishing their A-levels.

Chris Rea, early careers expert at the organisation, said: "A gap year may be a break, but it's the perfect opportunity for students to explore personal interests, gain life experience, broaden horizons and get ahead in their career.

"The jobs market is particularly competitive at the moment so a gap year can be a good move if students aren't sure what to do, want to earn money or need to strengthen their CV.

"If they're uncertain about what they want to do next, gap years offer space and time to reflect and get to know yourself a little better."

After not getting a single offer to study medicine, 20-year-old Victoria Tassongo, from London, was urged by teachers to apply for other courses, like bio-medical sciences, rather than defer.

But Victoria believes what she learned during her gap year is benefitting her now she is studying at Oxford.

"I was able to figure out or learn a lot of things about myself in the mundane of the everyday, like not having a schedule, planning my own time, setting goals," said the medical student.

"I love talking about gap years because I definitely want to change the narrative around them.

"Gap years are not a waste of time or just a lack of decision as to what you want to do in your life, they can actually be really strategic."

However, Victoria said a gap year can be "really lonely" and she did experience a fear of missing out (FOMO).

Gwen also questioned whether she had made a "massive mistake" when she saw her friends start university in September, but said she was ultimately happy with her decision.

Mia agreed: "I was definitely getting a bit of FOMO, just in terms of the social aspects of it.

"But I think now that we're actually going travelling, I'm happy with my decision."

The friends have since landed in Thailand to begin their three-month trip.